


Weary

by silverrstardust



Series: Fear [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Ruby Rose (RWBY) Needs a Hug, Spoilers: Volume 8 (RWBY), Volume 8 (RWBY), Winter Maiden!Ruby, advocating blake belladonna as ruby's emotional support, let ruby rest 2021, yang and ren arguing again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29418597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverrstardust/pseuds/silverrstardust
Summary: “Ren, come on, what did you see? What’s wrong with my sister?”
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc & Lie Ren & Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee
Series: Fear [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089347
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	Weary

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh sorry this took so long, got stumped right near the end of this, then school happened, then chapter 8 went brrr, then school again, then brain still no work, but it's here! It's finally done!
> 
> So please enjoy pt 3!

Weiss paces back and forth in her own room, tracking the same pathway that she’s paced in the past. She’s certain by now that the floor has been indented from her heels, and the bottoms of every pair of shoes she owns are completely worn at the soles. It would seem even “top quality” Atlas manufactured heels are no match for her own pacing wrath. Figures.

Atlas is only about appearance after all. Appearance over quality.

Heaving an exhale, she pulls out her scroll. Blake hasn’t sent her a message yet, which means that the others have yet to arrive. With nothing left to do about that, she instead turns her gaze to Nora and Ruby. Ruby shifts, turning herself onto her side and moaning softly before stilling once more. Nora still has yet to make a peep.

Her heart flutters uneasily as the nervousness inside her grows. She and Blake went through everything, making sure to hit all the important points, figuring out the best strategies to approach things should the conversation spiral out of control. She hates thinking like that. Like they need to plan every single conversation they have with their teammates. Their _friends._ It doesn’t feel natural, it feels like they’re expecting things to take a turn when they shouldn’t need to.

It feels like they don’t trust each other anymore.

Weiss moves to check her scroll again, but as she does, a harsh gasp resonates from behind her, and suddenly Ruby is bolting upright, completely awake and gulping at the air, struggling to breathe. Weiss yelps with alarm and races to her partner’s side, placing a hand on her back as she tries to regain control of her lungs.

“Deep breaths, Ruby,” Weiss instructs her, stroking a breathing pattern up and down on the brunette’s back. Ruby’s lungs shudder and she coughs at first, but soon she matches her own breathing with Weiss’ hand movements. 

Finally, her shaking body stills, and she balls up the covers in her hands. “I’m fine.”

_Obviously a lie_. The ex-heiress frowns but does nothing to correct her partner. “Nightmare?” Weiss asks instead.

There’s a stubborn mumble in response. “No.” 

Weiss frowns. “Ruby-”

Ruby shoots her a glare, and Weiss wilts under those eyes, sharp as steel, with silver flames leaking out the corners. 

The fire is different. Weiss thought that typically a maiden’s fire was the colour of their aura, but Ruby’s fire is silver like the light that comes from her eyes. Another one of those special silver eyed warrior traits, though she supposes that a maiden has never been a silver eyed warrior before.

Ruby’s powerful. More powerful than she’s ever been.

And it _scares_ her. If there was ever any doubt that Ruby already had a target on her back before, all of it is gone now. 

It strikes her just then. The enemy doesn’t _know_ that Penny is completely gone. They can’t… right?

They might have just gotten an advantage.

She doesn't dare voice these thoughts in front of Ruby. Thinking about it makes her feel uncomfortable, disgusting even. Her partner isn’t just some... _advantage_. She’s not a tool to be used. But they need some sort of hope to cling to, and that hope is Ruby.

It always has been.

Ruby’s eyes are shadowed as if overcasted by storm clouds, looking down at the bedsheets deep in thought.

“Yang called,” Weiss says, hoping to get some sort of reaction, but even the flames from the fireplace seem more interested then Ruby does. “She and the others should be here any minute.”

After a few beats of silence, Ruby nods and pulls the covers off her body to slide out of bed. 

“Ruby, wait-”

“Weiss,” The low tone in her voice is cold and deadly. “I’m not hurt. You can’t make me stay in bed.”

Weiss takes a step back, letting her arms fall back to her side. “I know. I just worry about you.”

Ruby grits her teeth. “Then stop it. I’m fine. I’m going to wait for Yang.”

“Ruby-”

The door slams on her way out, leaving Weiss alone in her room with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company. 

Just like before.

* * *

  
  


As the Schnee Manor comes into view, the Atlas air somehow seems to grow colder, so much so that even Yang feels herself shudder. The bullhead pulls forward, drawn towards the pompous snowflake statue in the front courtyard. The side door pops open with a hiss, and crisp cold air floods in, her golden locks whipping furiously around her head. 

“I’m dropping you off here, but after that, you’re on your own,” Winter says. “Do you understand?”

Yang understands. She means that if they decide to go into the whale to rescue Oscar, there’s no guarantee that Winter will be able- or even willing- to stop Ironwood when the bomb drops. She’s already disobeying direct orders. If Ironwood finds out Winter’s intentions were deliberate… Yang hates to even think of the consequences.

She was so deep in thought that when Winter unclasps the cuffs on her wrists, she jumps with surprise. But once her wrists are free she rubs them and gives Winter a nod of thanks. Winter remains emotionless, her back ram-rod straight, hands neatly folded behind her. But when Yang meets ice blue eyes, the same ones as Weiss, the professionalism breaks, but only for a moment.

“Good luck,” She whispers. 

“You too. Thanks.”

Yang hops out of the bullhead. 

It’s a different atmosphere when she lands. It’s bleak, and it sends her skin crawling. Ren and Jaune are already waiting for her, Ren’s eyes scanning the area warily. Yang doesn’t need his semblance to know that something feels off. 

“You guys feel that, too?” Jaune asks, hand moving to grip his sword. 

Nobody answers, but through a quick exchange of worried glances they know they agree something is wrong. Yang moves towards the front doors first, but then she freezes and her eyes widen when they spot the massive crater just outside the manor. Dust is still rising, the shattered earth splattered with something that looks like green acid. 

It reminds Yang of blood.

“What happened here?” Ren asks slowly, raising Stormflower up ahead of him. 

Yang is just about to say something when the massive front door suddenly pulls open, and out comes running Blake. Yang feels oxygen come rushing back into her lungs with relief. “Blake!”

“Yang!” Blake cries, and when they finally are close enough, her partner leaps into her arms. “I was so worried.” She whispers. Yang huffs out a relieved breath. This whole time she’s been afraid that Blake would think less of her for choosing Mantle over Amity. But all of it seems proven wrong as Blake squeezes her tightly. 

“Me too,” Yang says. “Everything okay?”

Blake makes a melancholy and uncertain noise in her throat, her ears drooping. 

Ren takes one look at Blake and frowns. “Something did happen,” He says confidently. He must’ve checked her with his semblance. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Inside,” Blake says. “Come on, we’ve got a fire going in Weiss’ room.”

“Thank the gods,” Jaune exhales, lifting his hand off the hilt of his sword. They follow Blake into the mansion. 

It’s dark inside. The last time they were here, Yang remembers it being full of people. Not really a warm homely place, but at least it was lively. The party guests mingling with one another, her hating every word that slipped out of their mouths. The one good thing that ever came out of this room was the scheme to get Whitley ( _Shitley,_ she thinks bitterly) off of Weiss’ back. It sent her sister into a fit of laughter, and put a beaming grin on her own face.

Ruby’s laughter is enough to brighten every room, even one in the home of Jacques Schnee. 

Only now it’s just… lifeless. Empty. Cold. 

She wonders if it’s always felt this way for Weiss.

A splotch of red appears into the top corner of Yang's vision, drawing her gaze up. Ruby is standing there at the top of the stairs, looking down at them blankly. There’s no smile, no happy wave to greet them, no flood of petals whooshing by the way they do after she tackles someone in a hug. She doesn’t even look the slightest bit relieved. There’s just nothing. 

It’s almost exactly how Yang looked after she lost her arm. 

Blake notices her staring and follows her eyes. She seems surprised. “Ruby, you’re awake!” She exclaims. Yang frowns, glancing over at Blake, but all she gets for explanation is a brief eye flick in her direction that screams “ _Later_.”

Ruby scans them over and Yang thinks she catches a glimpse of worried silver flash in her darkened eyes. “Where’s Oscar?”

Silence blankets over the room, several faces falling to the floor. Yang, however, keeps hers up, waiting to see what her sister will do. Ruby is standing there, looking to her for an answer, so desperately, but the haunted shadows in her eyes say she already knows the answer.

“He’s gone,” Yang says finally. Jaune says her name with warning in his tone, and she holds up a hand to dismiss him as she continues. “Not dead, at least not yet. He was taken by Salem… or some… _thing.”_

“You lost him?” Ruby’s quiet voice breaks Yang’s heart. She looks like she’s about to rip apart at the seams. Ruby takes a step backwards, her cloak swishing with the movement. Yang watches as her face turns to a stark sheet of white.

Then, she promptly throws up.

All Yang can do is stand there, only briefly horrified before she starts to sprint up the stairs towards her sister, Blake hot on her heels. When she finally reaches her, Ruby is dry heaving, her entire body shaking with sickness. 

She hears Ren inhale sharply and so she looks over her shoulder to meet his eyes. He’s staring at Ruby, looking nearly as pale as she is, shaking his head as if almost in denial. 

“Ren?” Yang asks, worry laced in her lips.

He says nothing. Instead, he takes a knee beside Ruby and places a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, a grey-toned sheen washes over her, and the shudders that wrack her body start to slow. Blake is there too, a gentle hand on the back of Ruby’s neck and the other brushing back her hair. Yang feels a pang of guilt. She should be the one doing that. 

“Can someone tell Weiss I’m sorry for soiling her nice rug?” Ruby murmurs weakly, after her stomach has finally settled and she’s capable of breathing normally again. Or at least, it’s at the point where she’s no longer in danger of suffocating.

“I’m sure she won’t mind,” Blake assures her. “Come on. We need to get to Weiss’ room.”

Blake wraps one of Ruby’s arms across her own shoulders and starts to guide her to the bedroom. Beside her, Ren rises from his crouched position on the floor, gazing after Ruby with rose tinted eyes. 

“Ren?” Yang repeats again, placing her hands on her hip sternly. Ren presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Unnerved by his refusal to answer the question, she steps right in his view so she’s all he can see. “Ren, come on, what did you see? What’s wrong with my sister?”

“People’s feelings are their own,” Ren snaps, glaring at her pointedly. “It’s not like I should go belting them out every chance I get.”

“That didn’t stop you from doing it earlier,” Yang points out, closing the distance between them.

Ren sighs. “Look, that was just because-”

  
“Because what, Ren? This isn’t just anyone, we’re talking about here. This is my baby sister! She’s our leader, if there’s anything wrong with her, we need to know!”

“Oh, so now you think she’s our leader?” Ren blurts. “When before you were so quick to say she was doing a terrible job? Now you want to start acting like a sister?”

The jab is like a slap to the face, a slap hard enough to bruise. “I didn’t say that!”

“Guys!” Yang is shoved to the side by Jaune, who has now stepped into the short gap between them that they hadn’t realized was getting smaller and smaller. He looks pissed- not quite thrust your friend into the wall level pissed, but there’s enough disappointment glowering off of him to make Yang back down. “We just got back. It’s clear that something has happened here… something bad. Do we really want to make it worse with fighting? Do you think any of them need that right now?”

Yang huffs.”Fine.”

“I’m not letting this go, either,” Jaune says. “If we’re going to work together again, we all need to put our differences aside. _All_ of us.” He looks to Ren.

“Fair enough,” 

“If there really is something wrong with Ruby,” Jaune says as they all start following him in the direction Blake took Ruby. “Then she’s going to need us together on this. We need to be there for her.”

Yang presses her mouth into a firm, thin line, feeling something settle uncomfortably at the pit of her stomach. That’s supposed to be her job. She’s supposed to always have her sister’s back. And now?

Now, her sister is hurting, and Yang doesn’t have a clue how to help her.

**Author's Note:**

> WHOOO how about chapter 8 huh. tHat was... ashdfjksadf. 
> 
> I've seen chapter 9 as well, so I know this doesn't exactly line up with canon, so that's... unfortunate, but that's why AU's are alternate universes. Who cares if it doesn't match up with canon? i have a way to get things back on track anyways!
> 
> Things are going to go down in the next part i think. ALso didn't mean for Ren and Yang to keep fighting, but they're just being problematic, okay? I'll have them back to normal in the next part. As Jaune essentially said, they can't keep fighting forever. 
> 
> hope you enjoyed! Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
